MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) - Roscosmos General Director Yury Borisov and Kazakh Deputy Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry Minister Malik Olzhabekov have visited the Progress Rocket Space Center to inspect the production of the new launch vehicle Soyuz-5 under the Baiterek project, Roscosmos said in a statement.
"Yury Borisov and Malik Olzhabekov inspected the production sites of the enterprise where Soyuz-5 launch vehicles are manufactured as part of the Baiterek joint project," the statement said.
Progress Rocket Space Center General Director Dmitry Baranov has briefed on the production of prospective aerospace equipment, it said.
"During the visit, Yury Borisov and Malik Olzhabekov discussed the implementation of the joint project at a meeting attended by Kazakh partners and the heads of Roscosmos companies," it said.
Baiterek is a Russian-Kazakh space rocket complex that is being built in Baikonur, which is expected to be used for launching Soyuz-5 rockets.
Ravil Akhmetov, first deputy general director and chief designer of the Progress Rocket Space Center, said on October 2, 2024 the first launch of the new Russian Soyuz-5 launch vehicle had been rescheduled from 2025 to 2026.
The Energia Rocket and Space Corporation is the lead developer of the Soyuz-5 medium-lift rocket also known as Irtysh. The rocket is being developed as part of the Fenix project with the RD-171MV engine. The two-stage rocket will be launched from Baikonur as part of a joint project with Kazakhstan from the launch site previously used by Zenit rockets. Soyuz-5 can bring up to 17 tonnes of payload to a parking orbit.